Note: Terminology change—Super Empire changed to Great Empire.
"Ant, are you a Sword Saint of this world?"
The Darkspawn, gripping the Ominous Blade, coldly and arrogantly questioned.
Alice's right eye turned black and red, glaring much larger than her normal left eye, resembling that of a ghoul.
Edward's palms were sweating—what was this eerie sense of oppression?
He stammered, "Yes, so what? I am recognized as the youngest Sword Saint…"
But the Darkspawn immediately spat, "You, a Sword Saint? What a worthless piece of trash…"
His voice gradually grew slow and sinister.
"Lady Sylph, let's attack!"
Edward, ignoring everything else, still believed he was unmatched within the realm of the Holy Faith!
He rushed forward, his speed astonishing!
The Darkspawn, however, sneered with disdain.
"Last time, her body was too fragile. This time, I can finally unleash one-tenth of my power."
Facing the oncoming gale sword, the Darkspawn dodged with precision, narrowly avoiding the sharp blade by just one-tenth of a centimeter.
Though it seemed like they collided, they hadn't actually touched.
Immediately after, the Ominous Blade stabbed heavily towards his heart!
"What!"
Edward was in disbelief—his brain insisted that he had already struck!
Unfortunately, he now had to find a way to evade.
The Wind Spirit Sylph puffed up her mouth and blew out a gust of wind, forcibly pulling them apart.
Edward, drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with fear, thought, "Just now, how could that be? Did he achieve perfect control?"
"Come on, I really want to test your swordsmanship," the Darkspawn taunted playfully.
Hearing this, Edward couldn't suppress his anger any longer.
He gripped the royal sword tightly, preparing to engage in a serious sword fight.
Seeing this, the Darkspawn's lips curled into a grin.
"Good, now that's more like it!"
As Edward attacked, the Darkspawn remained composed, evading with ease.
Parry after parry.
The two seemed to be bathing in a storm of blinding cold light, the clashing of swords ringing incessantly.
The sound was piercing.
But after fighting for so long, Edward still couldn't land a single hit, driving him to the brink of madness.
"Impossible! Impossible! It's impossible that you can block every strike!"
He attempted a sneak attack, kicking out.
But the Darkspawn blocked it with a hand.
Seizing the opportunity, Edward's pupils contracted—now was his chance!
Finally!
He thrust his sword sharply towards the throat.
However, it was as if the Darkspawn had anticipated this all along.
"Squelch!"
The sword pierced forward, but instead of hitting the throat, it impaled the Darkspawn's hand!
Blood didn't spray out; instead, it was greedily absorbed by the Ominous Blade.
Ignoring the pain, Edward hurriedly struggled free.
He retreated a distance and downed a bottle of super recovery potion to heal his injury.
He had only this one bottle, meant for severe injuries, but now his dominant hand was wounded.
If it were his left hand, his swordsmanship would drop significantly, leaving him with no chance of winning.
Taking advantage of the potion's effects, which enhanced strength, speed, and nullified pain, Edward launched another attack.
This time, his swordsmanship clearly began to strain the Darkspawn.
"Hmph, you're not so tough after all!"
Amidst the flurry of blades, Edward grew increasingly exhilarated.
"You! You're finished!"
He was more pumped up than ever before!
He was even trembling with excitement.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his arm.
He glanced over.
Half of his hand was in a horrific state!
Bleached bones, tinged with blood, were exposed.
Just looking at it was enough to make him faint from the pain!
Edward almost dropped his sword in shock, retreating several steps.
"When did this happen!!!"
He hadn't even noticed, and nearly lost his entire hand!
The lack of pain sensation turned out to be a drawback.
The Darkspawn laughed mockingly, "Keep going. I'd love to see you get whittled down to a skeleton…"
"Lady Sylph, we have to use that move!" Edward said gravely.
With that, he soared into the air, looking down from above.
With great difficulty, he raised the royal sword, aiming it at the Darkspawn, and declared,
"Blow, gale that tears through the heavens and earth, World-Class Sword Skill · Sylph's Wind Realm!!"
As he spoke, the sword tip flickered.
A gray-white light began to spin, slowly descending towards the ground.
For a moment, the soldiers on the city walls started frantically jumping down!
They rushed to find cover.
"Run! If we don't, we're finished!"
"Is His Majesty crazy, using that move here!?"
"Stick to the walls! Hold hands, don't move!"
The soldiers shouted in panic.
At this moment.
That pea-sized grey-white dot began to spin, stirring up a gale.
"Swish!"
A massive tornado gradually began to form!
Its area of impact extended over a kilometer!
From afar, it almost completely obscured the royal capital of the Sword Kingdom, resembling a colossal beast that blotted out the sky and the sun.
It appeared as though it was about to devour the entire city.
The sky grew increasingly dark, with shattered remnants of clouds being pulled into the tornado, forming a terrifying, ghostly face.
Inside the city, rows of houses were torn apart the instant the tornado struck!
They were lifted into the sky, spinning violently, creating an awe-inspiring sight!
On the other side, Gobu Kuang shouted, "Everyone, retreat! Fall back!"
But, unfortunately, many goblins couldn't escape in time.
They were forcibly swept up into the air.
In the sky, fierce gusts of wind, like sharp blades, pierced through the goblins, killing them on the spot.
Some were even torn apart, their blood and entrails scattered everywhere.
Furthermore, the debris from the buildings, now rotating at high speeds, turned into deadly projectiles, shredding anything in their path.
Thousands upon thousands of goblins, unable to flee in time, were caught up in the whirlwind.
The entire tornado was filled not only with the howling of the wind but also with the goblins' screams, creating a horrifying cacophony.
And at the eye of this storm stood the Darkspawn, still controlling Alice's body, standing firm.
In the eye of a tornado, there was no sensation of wind.
It was similar to when a typhoon struck, initially hitting hard and then suddenly becoming eerily calm.
This meant they were in the eye of the storm, with the worst yet to come.
However, unlike a typhoon, the eye of this tornado was only a few dozen meters wide.
Inside it, it was entirely Edward's domain.
He moved through the storm like a fish in water, unimpeded, as light as the wind itself.
From ten meters above, he looked down and said, "I can't beat you in swordsmanship, but what will you do now?"
"Wind, go!" he commanded, and with a wave of his hand, a fierce wind blade shot out!
The Darkspawn stepped back to dodge, and the ground was slashed open, leaving a deep, black mark.
The sound of the wind howling through the cut could still be heard!
Edward wasn't done.
With another wave of his hand, three wind blades slashed out!
The Darkspawn manipulated Alice's body like a phantom, easily dodging.
But next came ten wind blades!
Then twenty, thirty!
Over a hundred!
The entire eye of the storm became inescapable.
The Darkspawn could only draw his sword to defend himself, appearing as though he was performing a dance—elegant and confident!
There wasn't a trace of pressure on his face.
"This is wonderful! I love dancing in the midst of war! This is such a feeling of freedom!"
The Darkspawn exclaimed in excitement, effortlessly dodging the relentless wind blade assault, as if waltzing.
Gradually, Edward was reaching his limit.
"Lady Sylph, wait, the battle isn't over yet!"
"Your body can no longer withstand my power.
Surrender, Edward; you cannot defeat the Darkspawn," Sylph's ethereal voice echoed.
But Edward couldn't accept his defeat.
"No! Even if I die, I will fight! Use all your power, Lady Sylph!"
"Are you sure? Are you not afraid of death?" Sylph asked, her tone grave.
Edward nodded firmly, "The Sword Kingdom will not fall by my hand. I must pass it on!"
Hearing this, Sylph was deeply moved.
"If that's the case, then I too will stake everything to defeat this Darkspawn.
We cannot let it take over this body, or else everything will be lost."
"Wind, heed my call!!!"
An ethereal, resonant voice echoed across the heavens and the earth!
On a distant, tranquil hillside.
A small tree stood tall.
Suddenly, its crown swayed.
Then it began to bend downwards, swaying violently in the fierce wind, as if it might break at any moment.
At that moment, a towering tree, roots and all, was uprooted from above the small tree and flung into the air!
The wind surged from all directions!
Carrying with it numerous towering trees that were swept toward the main battlefield!
Sylph directed each gust of wind, extending her pale fingers and pointing them at the Darkspawn below.
"Swish!"
Those towering trees plunged downwards!
Their speed was terrifying, like cannonballs!
Seeing this, the Darkspawn knew he couldn't withstand the impact of these massive trees coming at such high speed, so he quickly tried to dodge.
But the surrounding gales pressed down on him, making it impossible to move!
"Wind Spirit, you deserve death!" the Darkspawn cursed, forced to awaken the dragon within the Ominous Blade and slash forward!
The sword's energy took the form of a giant dragon, slicing the tree in half.
But even that was exhausting.
Looking up, he saw countless towering trees swirling in the sky above!
The scene was both bizarre and breathtaking!
It was as if he was surrounded by a horde of ferocious creatures!
Sylph sternly declared, "Darkspawn, this world does not welcome your birth!
Disappear along with this girl!"
Immediately after, countless trees rained down like a torrential storm!
No matter how strong one was, it was impossible to block them all.
Indeed, the power to control natural elements had always been immensely formidable.
The Darkspawn spoke with a hint of despair, "Poor little girl, I fear I won't be able to save you this time."
Alice's left eye twitched slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.
She still had things she was concerned about.
However, given the situation, there was no choice but to face death calmly.
The Darkspawn suddenly said, "If you trust me, then surrender your body to me completely.
I can't guarantee you'll survive, and if you do, I can't promise you'll be whole.
But it's worth a try."
"I…" Alice hesitated.
Doing so would mean she would be entirely under the Darkspawn's control.
Whether she could regain control of her body would depend entirely on his will.
In the end, she agreed, emptying her mind and soul.
The Darkspawn, with a tone of desperation, said, "I will do my best to save you…"
Yet inwardly, he was grinning wickedly.
Finally!
Finally, he had succeeded!